Avatar Chapter 4
I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender
Ty Lee had to admit, she was surprised she was still allowed in the Palace after yesterday's fiasco, but Azula had made it clear, repeatedly, that she was not angry with her, even though she had every right to be.
She still could not believe what she had done, she had struck and incapacitated her best friend, who also happened to be the Crown Princess and heir to the throne. If anyone else had done such a thing… Ty Lee did not want to think what the punishment would be. And yet here she was, walking behind her Princess towards a waiting carriage.
Today was technically Ty Lee's first day as Princes Azula's personal attendant, signified by the solid gold pin she now wore on her shirt. It was fairly simple, the fire nation symbol with Princess Azula's name carved into it and yet it signified that Ty lee was acting on Azula's behalf.
Ty Lee was a little astonished by the fact that she was technically one of the most powerful people in all the Fire Nation, Azula had told her point blank that very few individuals could refuse her now, she could command her own parents if she wanted to.
Of course this power all came through the Princess and Ty Lee honestly could not see herself ordering people around at a whim, in fact the knowledge of the power she wielded made her feel uncomfortable.
"How does Azula do it, she's younger than me and yet she handles all this pressure like it's nothing." Ty Lee admired and respected her friend a great deal right now, perhaps that royal blood was as special as they say it is.
Azula climbing into the carriage broke Ty Lee's chain of thought, the Princess had a full schedule today and she did not seem happy about it. Ty lee climbed into the very ornate yet bulky cab being pulled by a very large komodo rhino.
Once inside she understood why the cab was so bulky, it was padded with thick layers of cloth that she assumed was to keep outside noise from disturbing the passenger. Said passenger was seated on the plush cushion at the back of the cab, she pointed to the opposite side and Ty Lee knew she wanted to talk.
As soon as Ty Lee took her seat and the door was closed Azula spoke "Now Ty Lee, today you get to witness the wondrous duties that a royal lady is expected to do for her nation." Azula was definitely not pleased with what she had to do today and Ty Lee understood why, sort of.
"It's ok Azula, all you have to make an appearance at the Royal university and then at that new hospital and then…" Ty Lee tried to remember where they had to go afterwards but Azula filled it in herself "to that ridiculous new ship christening, it is a simplistic freighter not even a new warship, why is it that I am expected to oversee these pointless errands"
Ty Lee sat silently as Azula raved and twirled a small blue flame around her fingers, she was intrigued by the unique color but she did not want it thrown at her so she waited for Azula to calm down.
She knew why Azula had to go see the new ship, it apparently was the largest freighter ever built and since the Princess now oversaw the transportation ministry it was her duty to make a public appearance.
Ty Lee also knew that was not what was bothering her princess, it was the appearances at the university and hospital that irritated her. Azula had been light on details but those kinds of visits were apparently the duty of the current Fire Lady or highest ranking female royal. Azula had told her that these kinds of visits were a waste of time but Ty lee knew the real reason she was irritated was that doing this reminded her of Princess Ursa, or former Princess Ursa to be exact.
"Oh Azula, why does thinking of her always do this to you" Ty Lee did not know the exact relationship between the Princess and her mom, it was the one thing everyone knew to never pry into, but she did know they were not close. And every time anything related to Ursa came up Azula would become very irritable and her aura would start to develop those black cracks she had seen on the balcony.
"Wait! It's my job attend to her isn't it, I should be making her life easier not sitting here like a lump" Ty Lee knew that Azula was in a bad mood and that frightened her but her Princess needed a friend now and Ty Lee was going to act like it.
"Wow Azula, I didn't know fire could be bent that color, it's really pretty" Ty lee was genuinely curious about Azula's unique flame, though she was not surprised her princess had managed such a thing.
Azula broke from her rant and turned surprised eyes towards Ty Lee, said girl simply smiled and continued to stare at the blue flame. The Princess now had a proud smirk on her face and brought both hands together, the blue flame grew to about the size of a melon. Ty Lee was amazed, the flame gave off a brilliant light that illuminated the cab, and it was far hotter than a normal flame twice the size her Princess was holding.
"Impressive is it not, Li and Lo say I am the first Fire Bender in a hundred years to produce a constant blue flame, and I am very close to being able to utilize it combat situations." Ty Lee could tell Azula was proud, if there was one thing Azula excelled at, or at least excelled at more, it was her bending prowess.
Ty Lee was entranced, not by the flame which was indeed impressive but instead by the way Azula now looked. She had a genuine smile on her face as she gazed into her blue flame, she was content, peaceful and actually happy! This was the Azula that Ty Lee knew was behind all the layers of what people thought they saw.
It was rare for Azula to be this, she was still the Princess that everyone was wary of but she was... softer, more approachable and less prone to setting people on fire. Her aura was vibrant and full of all of colors and symbols that Ty Lee remembered from their schooling years, absent were the greys, browns and web of black that she knew meant nothing good.
"When did you start bending blue fire, can you still bend red, are there other colors… can you bend pink flame" Ty Lee was very curious about her Princesses unique ability, and she started firing questions off in quick succession.
Azula smiled and answered in order "About a year ago, yes, yes and if you ask nicely I may be persuaded to oblige your obsession with pink in the future". Ty Lee pouted, pink was a nice color. "When we get back to the Palace this afternoon I will show you some of the forms I've incorporated the flame into, you will be one of first to see it in person.
Azula was obviously trying to show off and Ty Lee was not surprised, the only thing that really impressed Azula was Azula. "Afterwards, how about you show me that triple flip of yours, you are as proficient as I remember are you not."
That surprised Ty Lee, she thought Azula would be wary of seeing her do, well, anything in the training room after yesterday. But she was more surprised that Azula wanted to see her perform acrobatics for her, it was not nearly as flashy as Fire Bending and her Princess was hard to please.
"Don't be nervous Ty, you must take pride in your abilities, not many people can scale the Palace walls with their arms and legs alone" Ty Lee was shocked, Azula was praising her, Ty Lee, would be circus performer and well known airhead. But Azula's aura revealed she was genuine, and Ty Lee felt a happy wave go through her.
"Sure Azula, I can do if off the wall now and… oh I can almost touch me feet to my head, it creeps my sisters out but it's really cool…"
Ty Lee engaged with small talk with Azula for the rest of day, talking about her acrobatics while Azula talked about training with Li and Lo, who Ty Lee only knew in name. They also talked about little things, their school years, festivals, what they though Mai was up to, Azula suggested she had finally snapped and joined a artistic flower arranging club to stave off boredom, an image that made Ty Lee laugh out loud.
Their mutual good mood persisted throughout the day, the visits went off without a hitch even if they weren't particularly interesting. The freighter had been a highlight, when they said big they had meant it and Azula had actually been impressed with the engineering that had went into it.
Of course once back in the bulky carriage, designed to keep sensitive conversations from outside ears Ty Lee was told, Azula had immediately suggested that a ship that large would be better fit as an imposing warship to strike fear into the Fire Nation's enemies. Ty Lee noticed that Azula had spark in her eyes and accepted that her friend had peculiar tastes.
After the visits it was around lunch and Azula, in a much better mood, suggested something interesting. "Say Ty Lee, how about we dine in your new quarters at the Palace" Ty Lee was surprised, but then again she was not technically a guest anoymore so new quarters were probably appropriate.
"Sure Azula, uh, where will I be staying" Ty Lee hoped Azula didn't put her in some closet in the middle of nowhere. Azula smirked "It's a secret Ty, and once I tell it you must swear to never reveal it to anyone, even under duress" Azula was still smirking and Ty Lee was not entirely sure if she was toying with her.
Once at the Palace Azula lead the way through the halls until they were the royal quarter. Azula then stopped in front of a plain red door that almost melted in with the rest of the hall. The Princess opened the door and Ty Lee saw it lead to a long hall.
"Come along Ty Lee, the room I'm taking you to is very special" Azula spoke before entering. As Ty Lee followed she almost jumped as the door behind them closed automatically.
"Spring mechanism, it insures that door's that should be closed remain closed." Azula's voice came from in front from Ty Lee. Azual lead the way through the long, curved, dimly lit hall for about a minute until they came to a much more ornate door.
And as Azula stepped through Ty Lee was astonished to by the luxury of her new room, it was practically the same as Azula's. There were differences of course, it was significantly smaller and had no balcony; in fact there were heavy metal shutters right above the windows. And as Ty Lee looked at the door she noticed it was much thicker than normal and had a heavy metal bar that could be lowered onto it, to seal it shut.
"I see you have noticed Ty, this can be used as a safe room in the event of any danger" Ty Lee looked at Azula, she was confused.
Azula out her hand up in halt any questions "There is one more thing I will show you that should answer your questions." The Princess walked over to a painting of a mountain side and reached under it, she must have pressed something as the wall panel next to it slid aside.
Ty Lee looked into yet another hall, this one was plain and very dark. Azula lit a blue flame in her hand and again led the way down the hall. This hall was much like a snake but it was far shorter and in to time at they had reached what appeared to be the wrong side of a wall panel.
Azula reached to the side and pulled a small leaver, the panel slid aside and they both walked through to enter the Princess room. Ty Lee understood now, the two rooms were connected through a secret passage, "This is so cool!"
"Now Ty as you can see my room and the one we came from are connected through that passage, in the past it was used as a safe room but these days we have…other options." Azula walked over to a small panel on the wall with tiny switch connected to a metal wire.
"As such the room now serves as the living quarters of any person require constant access to, hence this device." Azula moved the switch multiple times and through the open door Ty Lee could hear the faint sound of a bell ringing.
"When that bell rings Ty I expect you to come to me room through the passage, it usually means I wish to speak with you discreetly." Ty Lee nodded, it was like the game the three of them to play when they tapped on the walls to send messages, she was terrible at it but Azula and Mai were very proficient.
"Now do you have any questions?" Azula asked.
Ty Lee thought it seemed pretty straightforward, she got a really nice room and was expected to be all sneaky when Azula rang the bell; she was like an actual spy.
"I'll take that a no, in that case let's go back and have something substantial brought to us. And after that we will travel over to the training room, I feel the need to burn something and then..."
Ty Lee fell into step as Azula listed off all the things she wanted to do today, she was happy that a day that seemed to get off to such a rotten start now appeared so bright.